Family Ministry
Living Out Our Baptismal Covenant
The Kansas District Parish Education Committee is committed to assisting congregations in their ministry and responsibility to strengthen marriages, parent and grandparent-child, and other faith mentoring relationships, and to support them in their role of passing on the faith to the next generation.
Marriage and family life are God’s design for rearing children and passing on the faith from generation to generation. It is God’s original plan and the ideal. In our fallen world, much has changed in regards to family life, formation, and structure. While holding up God’s plan, the Gospel needs to be proclaimed to families of any shape and form. Christ is central.
To that end, the Parish Education Committee affirms the role of equipping, resourcing, and encouraging congregations toward crafting their own vision of family ministry in order for all to more fully live out their baptismal covenant.
Parish Education Committee Recommends…
The Parish Education Committee has created a new resource! Our goal is to help parents in our District get Back to the Basics: Rediscovering the Faith at Home. Our hope is to show you how these resources can enrich your faith life with the family. While some resources will be obviously targeted toward families, we’ll also recommend some resources that you might not have otherwise considered. We’ll show you how they can apply to teaching and growing in the faith at home.
Below, you’ll find the recommendation for the current month, followed by a list of previously recommended resources (with a link to the Workers Together issue in which reviews appeared).
Latest Recommendation
Topic: Prayer
Recommended: My Prayer Book
“What comfort it is to know that we have a gracious Lord who receives our sighs, our groans, and yes, our prayers.” This is the introductory sentence in the preface of the 2021 updated version of Concordia Publishing House’s My Prayer Book. God tells us to pray to Him about everything. No matter how your day has gone or what emotion you may be feeling, it’s important that you have words to bring it to God in prayer. My Prayer Book is filled with more than 200 prayers that help you find the words for any situation.
Want to rejoice and give gratitude that you are a Christian? Need to pray for help on forgiving someone or asking for forgiveness? Know someone who is getting married or newly engaged and want to offer them blessings? See a family struggling with their child who has strayed from God’s path or has a physical or intellectual disability? My Prayer Book can help you with all these life situations and much more.
Section titles include Morning and Evening Prayers, Prayers for the Christian Life, Prayers for the Family Life, Prayers for Vocation, Prayers in Time of Sickness, Table Prayers, and Bible Resources.
Consider adding the revised My Prayer Book to your family library of devotional and prayer books.
Previously Recommended
Topic: Parenting
Recommended: The Advent Jesse Tree
Topic: Small Catechism
Recommended: Luther’s Small Catechism for Kids (CPH)
Review: October Workers Together
Recommended: Finding Hope: From Brokenness to Restoration
Review: September Workers Together
Topic: God’s Word
Recommended: Thirty Days in God’s Word: A Path of Discovery
Review: August Workers Together
Topic: Marriage
APRIL 2021
Topic: Spiritual Formation
Recommended: Grace Upon Grace: Spirituality for Today
Video Review
April Workers Together
MARCH 2021
Topic: The Lord’s Supper
Recommended: Follow and Do: The Lord’s Supper
Video Review
FEBRUARY 2021
Topic: Worship And Prayer
Recommended: Thank, Praise, Serve, and Obey
Video Review
JANUARY 2021
Topic: Baptism
Recommended: The Baptism of Your Child
Video Review
Why Family Ministry in Your Church?
Family ministry is rooted in Baptism. While it is true that our Baptism may have taken place years ago, while many of us have only a certificate to assure us of this, yet, it is, in fact, the greatest thing that has ever happened to us; it was our birthday into God’s Kingdom of Grace. Perhaps it would be well for us to hang our Baptismal certificate on the wall or to write, as Luther did, on our desk – “I AM BAPTIZED!” What better thought could we have to begin each day and as we close our eyes in sleep than to recall our Baptism? Baptism is not a momentary act. It’s a lifelong relationship to be celebrated and affirmed.
Family Ministry: Strengthens Marriages, Parent & Grandparent Relationships
God’s original design for us was that we would function within healthy relationships. Unfortunately, that aspect of our existence is also impacted by the reality of sin in our lives. While God’s love redeems us through the sacrificial blood of Jesus, relationships on this side of heaven still require intentional effort, a lot of grace, and many second chances, if they are to be healthy.
Again, the Parish Education Committee desires to support all in the baptismal journey by offering the following family ministry services for congregations, schools, Church workers, and laity of the Kansas District, LCMS:
- Free consultations – trained facilitators willing to assist pastors, other church workers, and lay leaders, with assessment tools and best practices in marriage and parent education.
- Marriage ministry – trained leaders excited to offer marriage enrichment experiences for church workers and their spouses. Retreats and workshops for laity are also available.
- Workshops –
- Heart of Family Ministry – a one-hour overview of family ministry strategies and resources for the congregation and the home, tailored for a Bible class.
- Faith and the Home – a series of half-day workshops designed to equip, resource, and encourage congregations toward crafting their own vision of family ministry. Participants learn ways to strengthen the family’s role of passing on the faith to the next generation.
District Contacts
Jim Bradshaw
Assistant to the President for Education and Youth
785-357-4441
Fax: 785-357-5071
jbradshaw@kslcms.org
Tami Lierz
Administrative Assistant
tami@kslcms.org
785-357-4441, ext. 5001
Stages of Life Development
Click here for simple downloadable guides that help you teach the faith at various stages of life.